Just Returned from the Valor Yesterday, GREAT SHIP

Okay this will end up being a very long review with the opnions of the regular joe or in my case jane. I have read this board for the last 6 months if not 2 times a day to 15 times a day just to see what was new and see the great tips in which I got and used some. Now there will be things in this review that some may not agree with but my feeling is that each to their own.

Quick idea of who we are. There were 6 of us on this cruise 4 of us being previous cruisers. We are from a small town in Indiana and we are really not hard people to please. So here goes.

Okay for those of you thinking flying in the day before is a good idea well let me say this as first hand knowledge....Everyone should do this. We are from Indy area and of course when we left it was snowing not bad but when we got to the airport our plane was on a weather hold to fly into Tampa. Well they cleared us to go and then we sat at the terminal for 45 min to deice the plane. So we finally get to Tampa and we find out they have shut the FLL and MIA airports down due to bad weather. So we sat at the Tampa airport for about 2 hours (now this is around 2:00 p.m.) we also had people on this flight that were suppose to be on a ship that day. So once they finally said that they were allowing planes in to FLL and MIA we loaded the plane and guess what sat there at the gate for another hour. So we finally get in the air and get to FLL which if you don't know is only about a 40 min door to door flight from Tampa. Well what a shock to find out that we then ended up flying around FLL for 45 min to land. So what was suppose to only take 40 min. ended up being 2 1/2 hours. This wouldn't have been that bad but we were up at 4:00 a.m. to get to the airport and we were suppose to be into FLL at 1:20 p.m. which ended up being 4:30 5:00 before we got in. I won't go into all the details with the luggage because guess what we had to wait there for a very long time.

Now we are off to our hotel that we got in Miami. Now when we finally decided to book a hotel most of the nicer ones we wanted were either all booked up or to much money. So if you know you are going a couple days early get a hotel booked fast. We stayed at the Riande Contin. across from Bayside Market. Well as much as I would love to go into that horrible stay just believe me when I say "DON'T STAY THERE" The only nice thing was the Bayside Market a must see.

Okay now we are up to Cruise day. We got up and got us a taxi from the hotel to the port for well we got lucky there the guy let us name our price he didn't even turn on his meter for us so I think we all gave him a $10 and he was thrilled. So anyway we had a little guy come and get our luggage and never said give me a tip but had that look on his face so for peace of mind we did. Oh I guess I should tell you that we arrived at the Carnival port and walked through the doors to go in at 10:55 a.m. we walked in went right through secruity and they did give us papers telling us of port changes and that we would not be able to get on the ship until 12:30 p.m. which we didn't think was bad. So anyway we went and did our sign and sail card then up the stairs to pick those up and then to a little waiting room and up the stairs we went down the long hallway to get our picture taken and then we were on the boat. I looked at my watch as we walked onto the Lido deck and got our first of well many pretty drinks and it was 11:30 a.m. So 35 mins is all it took us from start to finish. Me well I was thrilled considering all I had read on this board.

The Ship:

The Lobby is well I loved it but I am a very patriotic person. I could however see how some might think its a bit much but I loved it. The Lincoln dinning room is yes very pink. we had a wonderful wait staff loved them alot. Rosies is yes very green but again you could get past it. We did finally get the ship figured out where we weren't getting lost.

Our Cabin:

Okay this was awesome. This was mine and my DH first Carnival cruise but we booked an inside guar. and we were pleasently surprised to find out we got an outside oceanview room. We were in cabin 2420. I truly have to say as far as location it was perfect. It is in the back of the boat but movement was not bad and there was absolutley no noise. Well execpt for the occasional neighbor flushing their toilet which that is some sound. Anyway we had Edwardo as our room guy and he was awesome. He unlocked our fridge first thing and brought me extra pillows right away. My DH was sure he waited around the corner because everytime we left we always came back to a clean and neat room. As far as size it was great and we had more room than you could ask for on a ship. Did the whole clip on the shower curtain and it worked great. I loved all the little free goodies they give you in the bathroom.

Okay cruise director. Good news for all of you getting ready to cruise they have a new one as of this past week and he was really good. His name is Steve Cassel. He was so corny you had to laugh at him. And he left annoucements to just what needed to be said. He did some really fun talks. He also did some talent one night and he was GREAT!!!!! Now as far as activities he had alot planned but we were busy with other things and never really did any of them. So no fear to anyone not looking forward to that Rebecca she is gone.

The crew was always friendly and always ready to have you give them your sign and sail card.

I did go to the spa one day to get my nails done and the girl that did them was friendly and I wouldn't say she was overly pushy on trying to get me to buy things because I didn't really resist like my DH would have wanted me to. :eek:

Lets see what else about the ship oh the shows....we only went to one of the vegas shows and it was from what I could tell from everyone else they were really good. I personally am not one to sit and watch those so I can't give a good opinion. Now for the comedy shows they were top notch. I laughed so hard I cried every night.

Okay onto the food.....Rosies had a different menu everyday some good some bad. Now when I say bad I mean I wouldn't eat it if I were at a local place. Now my DH would like to have seen a little more change on the breakfast buffet. But like he said really what can you do to change breakfast. Now we never did go to the dining room for breakfast so can't help there. Dinner in the dining room was for the most part good now again some things I didn't like I wouldn't have liked off the ship. The pizza was very good. Most times if you wanted pizza you might have to wait for maybe 5 minutes. To me my thought on the whole having to wait is well you have a lot of people on this ship and last I checked no where did I sign up for a sticker that said "okay I'm here so I get to go to the front of the line." I guess those I have heard complain on this board about the lines should maybe try a land based vacation where you have waiter or waitress. Now for temp. of the food, I can say that 99% of the food was always hot and fresh when I got it. A couple of times it wasn't but it was my fault for taking so long at the buffet walking around and then the long walk to the back of the Lido deck. Fish and chips were good and this is coming from someone that doesn't normally eat fish. Deli was also very good.

Okay here is where I am going to make some mad and think I am the worst person on the face of earth.....Coke cards...we only purchased one because I generally drink more coke than my DH and it worked out great. We also purchased those really cool cups they have and if we both wanted a coke then we would simply go to one bar get one and walk over another and get the other coke. OKAY I KNOW 30 LASHES TO ME FOR THAT. We also found a store in Grand Cayman that would sell Captain Morgan and Jack Daniels and let us take it back to the ship so we just rolled it up in towels and decided we would try to get it back on board and worse case would be they take so we were any worse than we started. Well they didn't say a word and that was a true money saver with that and the one coke card. Nothing like a good Captain and coke. It was just a quick trip back to the room for a refill.

The Casino...very nice and we didn't break them but we did okay. As for the smoke....I did notice that between the hours of about 10 p.m. to about 11:30 the place was packed but come around midnight it really thinned out and with that so did the smoke.

Okay now the internet cafe...I did the purchase 100 min for $55. Well the first night in there my DH was looking around and saw a sign that said if you have a spa reciept you would receive a 20% on your purchase. Okay pay attention there is a catch....they don't refund you the money they just add more minutes to your account.

Now for the islands....

Grand Cayman: it was raining which our group made the best of it and found the what we thought was the best place there. Senor Frogs.....that was by far the neatest place we went. Well for us women it was the guys were worried they were going to have to carry the wives back to the boat. That place is a very fun place a must see.

Roatan: this is a stop I will never figure out why Carnaval goes to. We didn't book an excursion which we prob should have. We did however hire one of the hundred taxi drivers and had a 12 year old as our tour guide. This island should really be taken off their list of places to go.

Belize: it was a little better than Roatan if you stayed on the port side but it you go outside the gates it's just like going into Roatan. Again no excursion planned. We were going to do Cave tubing but decided not to. Kinda wish we had. But one of the people in our group thought that shopping was way more important. So to keep the peace we all went shopping.

Costa Maya: Okay this one rates with Grand Cayman. We got there and found a taxi company and they took us to Tequilla Beach for $25 a person. When we got there we found out it was all you could eat and drink. Which some (like my DH thought he had to get his monies worth)loved. The beach was pretty and so was the water away from the beach. Needless to say EVERYONE in our group got our monies worth along with prob 6 other people. Shopping was okay not alot of bargins to be found and trust me the professional shopper we had with us tried her best. Some would come down a couple dollars and some wouldn't come down at all.

Now we are to leaving the ship...pretty simple got up went to the Lido deck waited for our color to be called (about 30 minutes) the rest of the process only took about 20 minutes but you are moving the whole time just a lot of walking.

With all that I have to tell you our experience we had pulling out of Miami. As we were on deck saying good buy to the main land myself and the rest of our group were standing there and a few people down a woman goes down. Now 3 of the six of us are 1st Responders and myself an EMT so we did what we have been trained to do. Along with a couple Paramedics on vacation. Well what was amazing was how well we all worked together. Now this is the ONLY bad thing I am going to say about this ship. The medical staff have A LOT to learn about patient care. When they FINALLY arrived we were trying to turn patient care over to them and they looked at us and said you just need to leave we will take care of this get off this deck now. And as we stood to watch them I noticed one guy was having issues with the O2 tank got mad and looked at security and demanded that all people were to be removed from the deck. I just felt like on they could have delt with the situation better. I know that every scene I go on we have never treated bystanders or helpers like that ever. It not only makes us look bad but it also is bad PR for a department. So needless to say we had to stop the ship just outside the channel and wait on the Coast Guard.

No big deal to our group really didn't even notice it and my guess is that people not knowing what was going didn't even realize it.

So I hope this helps even one person. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Being this was our first Carnival I have to say I would go on this ship any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Best to future cruisers.

--V

Thanks for the review! SO glad to hear the CD changed, I was getting worried.

We're doing the Eastern Caribbean on the Valor in April. We did the Western on the Paradise a couple years ago. Too bad you missed out on a tour at Roatan. It was our favorite of all four ports (Cayman, Cozumel, Belize). Tabyana Beach was awesome and had great snorkeling. We'd like to go back on a land vacation there.

Thanks again for taking the time to write the review!

YAH!!! Thank you for your review!!:D

I am glad to see there is a new cruise director, and that he is good. We are cruising in a few weeks and I was hoping we would have a good CD.

Great Review, Thanks, what do you think was wrong with the lady that went down?

Also I dont know this CD Rebeca but Im sure glad to have a new CD for our March 19th cruise.

Thanks again.

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to write it! I watched you sail that day and wondered what had happened, since it looked like the ship had stopped. In fact, it seems to me there's a thread about that around here somewhere!

My opinion on the lady and what I would have treated her for would have been a stroke. And that was also the same for the 2 medics with us.

Thanks for the super review. We're doing the same itinerary in under three weeks, so this is a great way to look forward to everything.

We were intently watching the Valor depart, and noticed how she remained still just outside Miami, for the better part of an hour. We hoped that someone would shed some light on the reason why, and I am glad you did.

That woman was lucky she was so close to port when she fell ill, and lucky some 1st responders were beside her. Sorry to hear you were treated rudely by their medics, they should have had the Captain come and thank you!

We were on the same cruise. There was also a 2nd stop later on that night where someone was taken off by helicopter. It was very sad. I hope they are both doing well.

I was hoping someone would post about this cruise as our little group that is going Jan of '07 was watching the web cam...the pool area was always empty...wondered if you had bad weather....

Karyn

Weather wasn't great on Monday but we made the best of it. We did get some layout time and even though it was cloudy we still got sun. When it got to chilly we just decided to explore the ship. Now when we were in GC it was rainy but with our group we really didn't care our thought was even a rainy day in GC was better than a cold day in Indiana or at work. Besides like I said we found Senor Frogs and forgot all about the rain.:D The other days at port if I remember right were sunny and great. We also had great sun on our last Sea day Saturday.

So Rebecca's gone eh? What did she get ... about 2 months to prove herself?

Anyway, it's too bad that the medics were rude to you, but I have a feeling that they were just doing what they were trained to do. After all, I'm sure if there was some fault with first response (be it by trained or untrained passengers or crew), Carnival would be held responsible.

Some things I have noticed people asking was about the bedding. It ROCKED!!! I slept better in those beds than I do at home.

Those that get seasick I personally used the Ginger pills and only needed them the first day and a half. One person in our group used dramamine and used it everyday and said it worked okay but to tell you the truth she was very anal about really wierd things. She noticed every move the ship made. The rest of us however ignored it. We also had one use that bracelet and swears by it.

I can also say we never had a problem getting a deck chair. Now when I say that we always went up a couple decks from the pool just because we weren't swimming and usually there were none. But if you go up a few decks you won't have any problem finding one.

I can't think of anything else but if anyone has any questions feel free to ask I do have all the Western Capers if you have questions about those.

have noticed people asking was about the bedding. It ROCKED!!! I slept better in those beds than I do at home.

On the Pride we used the new bedding, it was the best sleep I have ever had. Cant wait to get some more sleep on the Valor.

The rooms are awesome...I agree...I was in Ocean View room 2421, back in December! I didn't hear a thing...loved it!

I am glad to hear you liked Carnival....the rooms are bigger than the other lines I have tried...and I am always annoyed when people act snobby about it! We enjoy Carnival very much and we have very high standards. My worst trip and room was on a HAL ship!(That story is for another thread!)

How funny....the only thing about the whole trip I was disappointed in was Rebecca~ she just wasn't up to the Carnival CD standards...So I am glad to hear she has been replaced!

The other thing that was disappointing was the microphone in the Eagles lounge...where they moved the kareokee(sp) to...it was so popular they moved it to a bigger lounge...but it had a lousy microphone!

The band that moved from the Eagles lounge to the Paris Hot club Could really sing...REQUEST MUSTANG SALLY!!!

Yes! Yes! the new beds were wonderful...huge improvement over the old stuff! Loved the down like bedding! And pillows! Yummy!

FOOD:

I should add that the hamburgers from the grille were great! and that room service was always there each morning when we told them to be...they were our alarm clock and they were on time within 5-10 miutes give or take!

I agree with everything that was said...except the Roatan and Belize thoughts...we had two fantastic tours there...and would say that leaving the area where you dock in Roatan and tender to in Belize is the best decision you can make.

In Roatan we went snorkeling at West Bay Beach just about 100 yards walk to the left of the Mayan Resort...fantastic and great beach...then we went shopping at the West End Village...charmed by it all! We went with www.roatancabtours.com with a couple local gals as tour guides called Cinthia and Diana. This is a picture of some of my friends there in West Bay...

In Belize some in our group chartered a private snorkel boat for the whole day and went to Goff's Caye and some went cave tubing...both were arranged by ********* Adventures...owned by a local guy named Tom ...IT WAS AN AWESOME DAY! Photo below of my best friend and I there on the caye. You can email me for Tom's info if you want it. My email is cruisephotos@gmail.com

Everyone going on the Valor have fun!

Oh and PS

The 80's Show called "Far from Over" ROCKED!

Thanks for this great review! We leave on Sunday and we can't wait, especially after all the snow we got this past Sunday. Glad you mentioned the time you arrived at the port. I am trying to convince my parents that we need to get there early!

We're going with our children and my parents. We have tours booked in Belize and Roatan as suggested on these boards, and we're just going to beach it in GC and CM.

Glad to hear that there is a new CD after all the negative reviews. We love the shows and usually go every night.

Thanks for the great review. We still have nearly 4 long months before we sail away. Love to hear the positives (and negatives) about cruise ships. This will be our first time aboard Carnival and likely our last without kids (currently ages 3-1/2 and 1-1/2). For us, the CD has little impact over our enjoyment of a cruise. I'm more interested in good food and good drink, and if the drink is good, the food always tastes good, am I right?

Thanks for the great review. We still have nearly 4 long months before we sail away. Love to hear the positives (and negatives) about cruise ships. This will be our first time aboard Carnival and likely our last without kids (currently ages 3-1/2 and 1-1/2). For us, the CD has little impact over our enjoyment of a cruise.....

ABOUT KIDS:

We have go on a cruise every year...

and only take our kids on every third year...

this year 2006, is the third year and I am glad to say it!

It is hard to leave them but I so need the break on the other two years! But they are growing up so fast!!!

Our children are between 14 years old now and the youngest is 9 months....

BELIEVE me...the oldest ones who know what they are missing now are TICKED OFF everytime we go on a cruise without them....

They are very excited it is the year they get to come...and my 4 year old is starting to get it too....

I am actually starting to look forward to the more family oriented vacation....more time in the pool & at the beach...more hot chocolate before bedtime! More work! But I think the older ones are starting to appriciate it more too....

So enjoy your time away~you both desearve it!!!! AND it will be okay when they start to come too. My favorite memories of my childhood are from family vacations!

I hope you have a wonderful trip on the Valor...

We really enjoyed it...

we are taking the kids on the LIBERTY this year!

OH AND PS EVERYONE:

and as far as the "lime green" Rosies....I loved the "lemon yellow" in it too and the cool small tile murals on the walls of womens contributions during WWII ....it made me proud to be an American woman!!! It isn't that bad! It is very cheerful! Lots of clean stainless steel everywhere....it felt very clean!

Wow some people are easily offended....by wall color!?!?

When the beginning of a thread gets 4 or 5 stars.... who decides that???

That is POWER!:D

Thanks kfr307, for a wonderful review!!! For us first time cruisers, you have no idaea how much we appreciate other people's opinions, especially on recent cruises.

We'll be on the Valor in May. Can I ask a few questions?

How was the seating of the shows handled? I've read that early dinner goes to late show, and visa versa. Is this true? And how early did you have to go to get good seats?

Thanks!

Thanks kfr307, for a wonderful review!!! For us first time cruisers, you have no idaea how much we appreciate other people's opinions, especially on recent cruises.

 

 

We'll be on the Valor in May. Can I ask a few questions?

 

How was the seating of the shows handled?

This was done on a first come first serve. Now as far as the "vegas" type shows we didn't go to those. We did however go to the comedians. Seating time on shows were 8:30 and 10:30 and then a couple nights they had midnight shows.

I've read that early dinner goes to late show, and visa versa. Is this true?

I would say no because we had late seating which didn't start until 8:30 so we always had to go to the 10:30 show. So my answer would be no you went after dinner.

 

And how early did you have to go to get good seats?

Most night we just sat on the second level just because there were always plenty of seats and for comedians you don't need to sit real close anyway. But with that said the night of the Hypnosis we wanted front row seats so we just got there around 10 and had to sit in on a game of bingo. But we did get our seats. And BTW he was really good.

 

Thanks!

Hope that helps let me know if you have any other I love to share. We really had a great time. I do have the capers if you have any other questions. I hope you have as much fun as we did.

Thank you for the review and all the comments you have answered. I cruise on the Valor this Sunday (2/19), can't wait to get on the ship :)

Thanks for the great review. As for the new cruise director, I have sailed with him about 10 years ago. He was a great cruise director then, so am looking forward to cruising with him again.

We leave in 17 days and counting!!!:D

We loved the Valor and it was a wonderful boat....great review!

Thanks for giving us the information about the Valor. We are going on our first carnival cruise in April. We sail april 9 on the valor.

Has anyone stayed in a 8C cabin on the Verhanda deck?:)

Thanks for giving us the information about the Valor. We are going on our first carnival cruise in April. We sail april 9 on the valor.

 

Has anyone stayed in a 8C cabin on the Verhanda deck?:)

We sail the same day! Have you been to our Roll Call thread?!? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=212747

I can't wait!!!!!